US20140345179A1 - Rifle forend with integrated barrel nut - Google Patents
Rifle forend with integrated barrel nut Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20140345179A1 US20140345179A1 US13/901,852 US201313901852A US2014345179A1 US 20140345179 A1 US20140345179 A1 US 20140345179A1 US 201313901852 A US201313901852 A US 201313901852A US 2014345179 A1 US2014345179 A1 US 2014345179A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- forend
- upper receiver
- barrel assembly
- barrel
- rifle
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 21
- 230000013011 mating Effects 0.000 claims description 16
- 238000007792 addition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007123 defense Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41C—SMALLARMS, e.g. PISTOLS, RIFLES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- F41C23/00—Butts; Butt plates; Stocks
- F41C23/16—Forestocks; Handgrips; Hand guards
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41A—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS AND ORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE
- F41A21/00—Barrels; Gun tubes; Muzzle attachments; Barrel mounting means
- F41A21/48—Barrel mounting means, e.g. releasable mountings for replaceable barrels
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41A—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS COMMON TO BOTH SMALLARMS AND ORDNANCE, e.g. CANNONS; MOUNTINGS FOR SMALLARMS OR ORDNANCE
- F41A3/00—Breech mechanisms, e.g. locks
- F41A3/64—Mounting of breech-blocks; Accessories for breech-blocks or breech-block mountings
- F41A3/66—Breech housings or frames; Receivers
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T29/00—Metal working
- Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
- Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
Definitions
- the invention relates to firearms and more particularly, to a thread for a firearm. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a rifle forend with an integrated barrel nut that may be used to assemble the rifle.
- FIG. 1 depicts a conventional rifle 10 , including an upper receiver 12 , a barrel 14 , a forend 16 and a front sight 17 .
- the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 are aligned in a longitudinal direction, so that accessories mounted on the upper receiver 12 , such as a rear sight, can be properly aligned with accessories on the forend, such as forend-mounted target acquisition devices, for example.
- the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 are aligned during assembly of the rifle 10 , using a number of steps, as discussed herein.
- the barrel 14 may be first passed through an opening in the upper receiver 12 and an index pin (not shown) may be retracted into a notch in the upper receiver 12 , when the barrel 14 and the upper receiver 12 are in a proper rotational alignment so ammunition can feed from the upper receiver 12 to the barrel 14 .
- the barrel 14 may be then secured to the upper receiver 12 with a barrel nut 18 , such as by engaging inner threads (not shown) of the barrel nut 18 with outer threads along the upper receiver 12 .
- the forend 16 may be subsequently secured to the barrel 14 in a manner so that the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 are aligned. As illustrated in FIG.
- the forend 16 may include a slot 19 sized to receive the barrel nut 18 .
- a spring-loaded retaining ring 15 may then be provided to secure the forend 16 against the barrel nut 15 .
- the user checks the alignment between the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 . If they are not properly aligned, the positioning of the barrel nut 18 within the slot 19 is varied, until the upper receiver 12 and forend 16 are aligned.
- FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the interface between the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 in the conventional rifle 10 .
- a longitudinal gap 13 separates the upper receiver 12 and the forend 16 , and the retaining ring 15 may be positioned within the longitudinal gap 13 .
- a rifle in one embodiment, includes an upper receiver, a barrel assembly connected to the upper receiver and a forend with an integrated barrel nut.
- the integrated barrel nut may be connected to the barrel assembly such that the forend is directly connected to and aligned with the upper receiver.
- a forend with an integrated barrel nut for a firearm includes the forend, an upper receiver and a barrel assembly.
- the forend may include a mating shoulder along an inner surface of the integrated barrel nut, where the mating shoulder is coupled to an outer surface of the barrel assembly.
- the forend may be configured to align with the upper receiver based on a rear surface of the mating shoulder seated against a front surface of a shoulder of the barrel assembly.
- the forend may be configured to align with the upper receiver based on the integrated barrel nut being coupled to the barrel assembly.
- a method for assembling a firearm.
- the method includes inserting a barrel assembly of the firearm into an upper receiver of the firearm.
- the method may also include threading a forend with an integrated barrel nut over the outer surface of the barrel assembly.
- the method may also include checking an alignment at a predetermined torque value between the upper receiver and the forend.
- FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional rifle
- FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a receiver-forend interface in the conventional rifle of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the receiver-forend interface of the conventional rifle in FIG. 2 ;
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional exploded side view of an interface of a receiver and a forend with an integrated barrel nut in a rifle;
- FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the interface in FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 6 is a side perspective isolated view of the receiver and the forend with the integrated barrel nut of FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 7 is the side perspective view of the receiver and forend of FIG. 6 with a grenade launcher accessory mounted to the forend and positioned underneath a barrel assembly of the rifle;
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting a method for assembling the rifle with the interface depicted in FIG. 4 .
- conventional rifles 10 may involve various stages for assembling the upper receiver-forend interface: (1) connecting the barrel 14 to the upper receiver 12 with the barrel nut 18 , (2) connecting the thread 16 to the barrel nut 18 , and (3) positioning the retaining ring 15 in the longitudinal gap 13 between the upper receiver 12 and forend 16 to press the forend 16 against the barrel nut 18 .
- the inventors recognized that, if the barrel nut 18 and the forend 16 were integrated, this may eliminate the second stage (2) above while also reducing the number of components.
- FIGS. 4-5 illustrate a firearm, such as a rifle 110 , including an upper receiver 112 and a barrel assembly 114 connected to the upper receiver 112 .
- the rifle 110 may also include a forend 116 with an integrated barrel nut 118 .
- the rifle 110 may be an M4®/M16® firearm (M4® and M16® are registered trademarks of Colt Defense, LLC).
- M4® and M16® are registered trademarks of Colt Defense, LLC.
- the embodiments are not limited to any particular rifle or firearm, provided that the firearm has an upper receiver and a forend which to be aligned during assembly.
- the embodiments involve the improved forend 116 with the integrated barrel nut 118 where the integrated barrel nut 118 may be connected to the barrel assembly 114 so that the forend 116 is directed connected with the upper receiver 112 , in order to align the forend 116 with the upper receiver 112 .
- a rear end 121 of the barrel assembly 114 may be first inserted into an opening 123 of the upper receiver 112 .
- the barrel assembly 114 may be rotated within the upper receiver 112 , until the barrel assembly 114 and the upper receiver 112 are rotatably aligned at a predetermined relative rotational alignment at which ammunition can properly be fed from the upper receiver 112 into the barrel assembly 114 .
- the barrel assembly 114 includes an index pin 162 that may extend up into a notch 164 along an inner surface 166 of the upper receiver 112 , to rotatably fix the barrel assembly 114 within the upper receiver 112 at the predetermined relative rotational alignment, when the barrel assembly 114 and the upper receiver 112 are aligned at the predetermined relative rotational alignment.
- a shim 120 with a sized width may be positioned around an outer surface 124 of the barrel assembly 114 .
- the barrel assembly includes a shoulder 134 and the shim 120 may be positioned around the outer surface 124 on a front side of the shoulder 134 .
- “front” and “rear” may be used to describe a direction along a longitudinal axis of the rifle 110 , where the “rear” direction is toward a stock portion of the rifle 110 and the “front” direction is toward a tip of the barrel assembly 114 , as appreciated by one skilled in the art.
- FIG. 1 As further illustrated in FIG.
- the integrated barrel nut 118 of the forend 116 may have a mating shoulder 126 along an inner surface and on a front end of the integrated barrel nut 118 .
- an alignment between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 may be checked based on a longitudinal axis of the forend 116 coinciding with a longitudinal axis of the upper receiver 112 .
- This alignment may be evaluated based on determining whether a top, side or bottom surface of the forend 116 is parallel to a respective top, side or bottom surface of the upper receiver 112 .
- FIG. 4 illustrates an upper rail 140 positioned on a top surface 142 of the upper receiver 112 and an upper rail 144 positioned on a top surface 146 of the forend 116 .
- the alignment between the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 may be determined based on whether the upper rail 140 of the upper receiver 112 is aligned with the upper rail 144 of the forend 116 . If the alignment between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 is initially achieved, the outer threads 168 of the upper receiver 112 are engaged with the inner threads 170 of the forend 116 , to thread the forend 116 together with the upper receiver 112 , until the required predetermined torque value is achieved and the shim 120 makes direct contact with the mating shoulder 126 of the integrated barrel nut 118 of the forend 116 .
- an alternate embodiment need not involve the shim 120 and instead would merely involve checking the alignment between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 , before engaging the outer threads 168 of the upper receiver 112 with the inner threads 170 of the forend 116 with precise clocking, until the required predetermined torque value is achieved.
- the forend 116 may be separated from the barrel assembly 114 , to disengage the shim 120 and the mating shoulder 126 .
- the shim 120 may then be replaced with a second shim (not shown) having a second width that is different than the first width of the first shim 120 that was used.
- the above steps of alignment and threading of the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 may be repeated for the second shim, until the alignment and the required predetermined torque value are simultaneously achieved between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 . If the alignment and the required predetermined torque between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 are not simultaneously achieved, the second shim may be replaced with a third shim and the process may be repeated until an appropriate shim is positioned over the outer surface 124 so that simultaneous alignment and the required predetermined torque are achieved. As further illustrated in FIG.
- the integrated barrel nut 118 may include inner threads 170 along an inner surface
- the upper receiver 112 may include outer threads 168 along an outer surface, so that the inner threads 170 can engage the outer threads 168 in order to achieve the predetermined torque between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 , thereby sandwiching the barrel assembly 114 .
- the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 are not limited to this thread arrangement, and may include any structural arrangement which adequately achieves the predetermined level of torque and secures the forend 116 to the barrel assembly 114 .
- the alignment between the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 may be achieved through various other structural features of the interface between the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 .
- a rear end surface 130 of the forend 116 may be positioned within a small longitudinal gap 113 of a front end surface 132 of the upper receiver 112 .
- the small longitudinal gap 113 may be approximately 0.020′′.
- the small longitudinal gap 113 is not limited to this numerical dimension and may be any dimension, provided that proper compressive contact is achieved against the shoulder 134 and the load path passes through the shoulder 134 for proper structural integrity.
- the rifle 110 may fill the longitudinal gap 13 in the conventional rifle 10 ( FIG. 3 ) with additional rail 140 , 144 space ( FIG. 5 ).
- a rear surface 136 of the mating shoulder 126 of the integrated barrel nut 118 may be seated against a front surface 138 of the shoulder 134 of the upper receiver 112 , which further assists in the alignment of the upper receiver 112 with the forend 116 .
- the forend 116 is shown aligned with the upper receiver 112 , so that the upper rail 144 of the forend 116 may be aligned with the upper rail 140 of the upper receiver 112 .
- the upper rails 140 , 144 may be MIL-STD-1913 rail sections, for example.
- the upper rails positioned on the top surfaces 142 , 146 of the upper receiver 112 and forend 116 are not limited to any specific rail configuration, provided that the rails that are used on the upper receiver 112 and forend 116 can be used to mount various accessories and can be aligned in order to indicate that the upper receiver 112 and forend 116 are correspondingly aligned.
- the forend 116 is configured to mount an accessory along either a side region or a bottom region of the barrel assembly 114 .
- FIG. 7 illustrates a grenade launcher accessory 152 securely mounted to the forend 116 , such that the grenade launcher accessory 152 can extend along a bottom region underneath the barrel assembly 114 .
- the embodiments involve an interface of the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 which aligns the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 .
- the accessory 152 may also be aligned with the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 , and can be effectively used.
- the embodiments discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1-7 involve a rifle 110 with an interface between the forend 116 and the upper receiver 112 , the embodiments need not include all elements of the rifle 110 .
- the forend 116 with the integrated barrel nut 118 may be used to convert a conventional rifle into the rifle 110 discussed above in FIGS. 1-7 , by connecting the forend 116 and the integrated barrel nut 118 to a barrel assembly and an upper receiver of a conventional rifle, using the same steps discussed above for the rifle 110 .
- FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method 200 for assembling a firearm such as the rifle 110 .
- the method 200 begins at 201 by inserting 202 the barrel assembly 114 into the upper receiver 112 .
- the method 200 may further include positioning 204 the first shim 120 with a first width over the outer surface 124 of the barrel assembly 114 .
- the method 200 may further include threading 206 the forend 116 with the integrated barrel nut 118 over the outer surface 124 of the upper receiver 112 to a predetermined torque value.
- the method 200 may further include checking 208 an alignment of the upper receiver 112 with the forend 116 at the predetermined torque value.
- the method 200 may further include replacing 210 the first shim 120 with a second shim having a second width different than the first width, if the upper receiver 112 and the forend 116 are not aligned at the predetermined torque value, before ending at 211 .
- FIG. 8 appears to illustrate a particular sequence of steps in the method 200 , these steps may be performed in alternate orders.
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- Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The invention relates to firearms and more particularly, to a thread for a firearm. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a rifle forend with an integrated barrel nut that may be used to assemble the rifle.
-
FIG. 1 depicts aconventional rifle 10, including anupper receiver 12, abarrel 14, a forend 16 and afront sight 17. As illustrated inFIG. 1 , theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16 are aligned in a longitudinal direction, so that accessories mounted on theupper receiver 12, such as a rear sight, can be properly aligned with accessories on the forend, such as forend-mounted target acquisition devices, for example. In conventional rifles, theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16 are aligned during assembly of therifle 10, using a number of steps, as discussed herein. - As illustrated in
FIG. 2 , thebarrel 14 may be first passed through an opening in theupper receiver 12 and an index pin (not shown) may be retracted into a notch in theupper receiver 12, when thebarrel 14 and theupper receiver 12 are in a proper rotational alignment so ammunition can feed from theupper receiver 12 to thebarrel 14. Thebarrel 14 may be then secured to theupper receiver 12 with abarrel nut 18, such as by engaging inner threads (not shown) of thebarrel nut 18 with outer threads along theupper receiver 12. After thebarrel 14 is secured to theupper receiver 12, theforend 16 may be subsequently secured to thebarrel 14 in a manner so that theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16 are aligned. As illustrated inFIG. 2 , theforend 16 may include aslot 19 sized to receive thebarrel nut 18. A spring-loadedretaining ring 15 may then be provided to secure theforend 16 against thebarrel nut 15. The user then checks the alignment between theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16. If they are not properly aligned, the positioning of thebarrel nut 18 within theslot 19 is varied, until theupper receiver 12 andforend 16 are aligned.FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the interface between theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16 in theconventional rifle 10. Alongitudinal gap 13 separates theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16, and theretaining ring 15 may be positioned within thelongitudinal gap 13. - Indeed, conventional rifles involve numerous components and steps to assemble the
rifle 10 and properly align theupper receiver 12 and theforend 16. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a more simplified rifle structure, which achieves alignment of the upper receiver and the forend with less effort, in a shorter time frame and with fewer parts. - In one embodiment, a rifle is provided. The rifle includes an upper receiver, a barrel assembly connected to the upper receiver and a forend with an integrated barrel nut. The integrated barrel nut may be connected to the barrel assembly such that the forend is directly connected to and aligned with the upper receiver.
- In another embodiment, a forend with an integrated barrel nut for a firearm is provided. The firearm includes the forend, an upper receiver and a barrel assembly. The forend may include a mating shoulder along an inner surface of the integrated barrel nut, where the mating shoulder is coupled to an outer surface of the barrel assembly. The forend may be configured to align with the upper receiver based on a rear surface of the mating shoulder seated against a front surface of a shoulder of the barrel assembly. The forend may be configured to align with the upper receiver based on the integrated barrel nut being coupled to the barrel assembly.
- In another embodiment, a method is provided for assembling a firearm. The method includes inserting a barrel assembly of the firearm into an upper receiver of the firearm. The method may also include threading a forend with an integrated barrel nut over the outer surface of the barrel assembly. The method may also include checking an alignment at a predetermined torque value between the upper receiver and the forend.
- A more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the embodiments of the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional rifle; -
FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a receiver-forend interface in the conventional rifle ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the receiver-forend interface of the conventional rifle inFIG. 2 ; -
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional exploded side view of an interface of a receiver and a forend with an integrated barrel nut in a rifle; -
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the interface inFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 6 is a side perspective isolated view of the receiver and the forend with the integrated barrel nut ofFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 7 is the side perspective view of the receiver and forend ofFIG. 6 with a grenade launcher accessory mounted to the forend and positioned underneath a barrel assembly of the rifle; and -
FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting a method for assembling the rifle with the interface depicted inFIG. 4 . - In describing particular features of different embodiments, number references will be utilized in relation to the figures accompanying the specification. Similar or identical number references in different figures may be utilized to indicate similar or identical components among different embodiments.
- The inventors recognized that conventional rifles involve a significant number of components and parts at the upper receiver-forend interface, resulting in costly manufacture and a significant number of steps in assembling the rifle and aligning the upper receiver and the forend. For example, as discussed above,
conventional rifles 10 may involve various stages for assembling the upper receiver-forend interface: (1) connecting thebarrel 14 to theupper receiver 12 with thebarrel nut 18, (2) connecting thethread 16 to thebarrel nut 18, and (3) positioning theretaining ring 15 in thelongitudinal gap 13 between theupper receiver 12 and forend 16 to press theforend 16 against thebarrel nut 18. The inventors recognized that, if thebarrel nut 18 and theforend 16 were integrated, this may eliminate the second stage (2) above while also reducing the number of components. -
FIGS. 4-5 illustrate a firearm, such as arifle 110, including anupper receiver 112 and abarrel assembly 114 connected to theupper receiver 112. Therifle 110 may also include aforend 116 with an integratedbarrel nut 118. In one non-limiting example, therifle 110 may be an M4®/M16® firearm (M4® and M16® are registered trademarks of Colt Defense, LLC). However, the embodiments are not limited to any particular rifle or firearm, provided that the firearm has an upper receiver and a forend which to be aligned during assembly. As discussed in greater detail below, the embodiments involve the improvedforend 116 with the integratedbarrel nut 118 where the integratedbarrel nut 118 may be connected to thebarrel assembly 114 so that theforend 116 is directed connected with theupper receiver 112, in order to align theforend 116 with theupper receiver 112. - As illustrated in
FIG. 4 , to assemble therifle 110, arear end 121 of thebarrel assembly 114 may be first inserted into anopening 123 of theupper receiver 112. Upon inserting therear end 121 of thebarrel assembly 114 into theupper receiver 112, thebarrel assembly 114 may be rotated within theupper receiver 112, until thebarrel assembly 114 and theupper receiver 112 are rotatably aligned at a predetermined relative rotational alignment at which ammunition can properly be fed from theupper receiver 112 into thebarrel assembly 114. Thebarrel assembly 114 includes anindex pin 162 that may extend up into anotch 164 along aninner surface 166 of theupper receiver 112, to rotatably fix thebarrel assembly 114 within theupper receiver 112 at the predetermined relative rotational alignment, when thebarrel assembly 114 and theupper receiver 112 are aligned at the predetermined relative rotational alignment. - Upon securing the
barrel assembly 114 within theupper receiver 112 at the correct rotational alignment, ashim 120 with a sized width may be positioned around anouter surface 124 of thebarrel assembly 114. As illustrated inFIG. 4 , the barrel assembly includes ashoulder 134 and theshim 120 may be positioned around theouter surface 124 on a front side of theshoulder 134. For purposes of this detailed description, “front” and “rear” may be used to describe a direction along a longitudinal axis of therifle 110, where the “rear” direction is toward a stock portion of therifle 110 and the “front” direction is toward a tip of thebarrel assembly 114, as appreciated by one skilled in the art. As further illustrated inFIG. 4 , the integratedbarrel nut 118 of theforend 116 may have amating shoulder 126 along an inner surface and on a front end of the integratedbarrel nut 118. After theshim 120 is positioned over theouter surface 124 of thebarrel assembly 114, the alignment between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 is initially checked. The alignment between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 is initially checked, since this initial alignment should be established before theforend 116 andupper receiver 112 are threaded together to achieve a required predetermined torque value. For purposes of this detailed description, an alignment between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 may be checked based on a longitudinal axis of theforend 116 coinciding with a longitudinal axis of theupper receiver 112. This alignment may be evaluated based on determining whether a top, side or bottom surface of theforend 116 is parallel to a respective top, side or bottom surface of theupper receiver 112. For example,FIG. 4 illustrates anupper rail 140 positioned on atop surface 142 of theupper receiver 112 and anupper rail 144 positioned on atop surface 146 of theforend 116. In one non-limiting example, the alignment between theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116 may be determined based on whether theupper rail 140 of theupper receiver 112 is aligned with theupper rail 144 of theforend 116. If the alignment between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 is initially achieved, theouter threads 168 of theupper receiver 112 are engaged with theinner threads 170 of theforend 116, to thread theforend 116 together with theupper receiver 112, until the required predetermined torque value is achieved and theshim 120 makes direct contact with themating shoulder 126 of theintegrated barrel nut 118 of theforend 116. Although the above steps involve positioning theshim 120 around theouter surface 124 on the front side of theshoulder 134, an alternate embodiment need not involve theshim 120 and instead would merely involve checking the alignment between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112, before engaging theouter threads 168 of theupper receiver 112 with theinner threads 170 of theforend 116 with precise clocking, until the required predetermined torque value is achieved. - If the
forend 116 is not initially aligned with the upper receiver 11 he forend 116 is initially aligned with theupper receiver 112 but theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 cannot be threaded together to achieve the required predetermined torque value, theforend 116 may be separated from thebarrel assembly 114, to disengage theshim 120 and themating shoulder 126. Theshim 120 may then be replaced with a second shim (not shown) having a second width that is different than the first width of thefirst shim 120 that was used. After the second shim is positioned around theouter surface 124 of thebarrel assembly 114, the above steps of alignment and threading of theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 may be repeated for the second shim, until the alignment and the required predetermined torque value are simultaneously achieved between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112. If the alignment and the required predetermined torque between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 are not simultaneously achieved, the second shim may be replaced with a third shim and the process may be repeated until an appropriate shim is positioned over theouter surface 124 so that simultaneous alignment and the required predetermined torque are achieved. As further illustrated inFIG. 4 , in order to thread theintegrated barrel nut 118 of theforend 116 over thebarrel assembly 114, theintegrated barrel nut 118 may includeinner threads 170 along an inner surface, and theupper receiver 112 may includeouter threads 168 along an outer surface, so that theinner threads 170 can engage theouter threads 168 in order to achieve the predetermined torque between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112, thereby sandwiching thebarrel assembly 114. However, theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112 are not limited to this thread arrangement, and may include any structural arrangement which adequately achieves the predetermined level of torque and secures theforend 116 to thebarrel assembly 114. - In addition to the direct contact between the
shim 120 and themating shoulder 126, the alignment between theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116 may be achieved through various other structural features of the interface between theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116. As illustrated inFIGS. 4-5 , arear end surface 130 of theforend 116 may be positioned within a smalllongitudinal gap 113 of afront end surface 132 of theupper receiver 112. In one non-limiting example, the smalllongitudinal gap 113 may be approximately 0.020″. However, the smalllongitudinal gap 113 is not limited to this numerical dimension and may be any dimension, provided that proper compressive contact is achieved against theshoulder 134 and the load path passes through theshoulder 134 for proper structural integrity. By separating therear end surface 130 of theforend 116 from thefront end surface 132 of theupper receiver 112 by the smalllongitudinal gap 113, therifle 110 may fill thelongitudinal gap 13 in the conventional rifle 10 (FIG. 3 ) withadditional rail FIG. 5 ). As further illustrated inFIGS. 4-5 , arear surface 136 of themating shoulder 126 of theintegrated barrel nut 118 may be seated against afront surface 138 of theshoulder 134 of theupper receiver 112, which further assists in the alignment of theupper receiver 112 with theforend 116. - As illustrated in
FIG. 6 , theforend 116 is shown aligned with theupper receiver 112, so that theupper rail 144 of theforend 116 may be aligned with theupper rail 140 of theupper receiver 112. In an embodiment, theupper rails top surfaces upper receiver 112 andforend 116 are not limited to any specific rail configuration, provided that the rails that are used on theupper receiver 112 andforend 116 can be used to mount various accessories and can be aligned in order to indicate that theupper receiver 112 andforend 116 are correspondingly aligned. - As further illustrated in
FIG. 6 , theforend 116 is configured to mount an accessory along either a side region or a bottom region of thebarrel assembly 114. In one non-limiting example,FIG. 7 illustrates agrenade launcher accessory 152 securely mounted to theforend 116, such that thegrenade launcher accessory 152 can extend along a bottom region underneath thebarrel assembly 114. As discussed above, the embodiments involve an interface of theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116 which aligns theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116. Thus, by mounting theaccessory 152 to theforend 116, theaccessory 152 may also be aligned with theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116, and can be effectively used. - Although the embodiments discussed above in relation to
FIGS. 1-7 involve arifle 110 with an interface between theforend 116 and theupper receiver 112, the embodiments need not include all elements of therifle 110. In one embodiment, theforend 116 with theintegrated barrel nut 118 may be used to convert a conventional rifle into therifle 110 discussed above inFIGS. 1-7 , by connecting theforend 116 and theintegrated barrel nut 118 to a barrel assembly and an upper receiver of a conventional rifle, using the same steps discussed above for therifle 110. -
FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart depicting amethod 200 for assembling a firearm such as therifle 110. Themethod 200 begins at 201 by inserting 202 thebarrel assembly 114 into theupper receiver 112. Themethod 200 may further include positioning 204 thefirst shim 120 with a first width over theouter surface 124 of thebarrel assembly 114. Themethod 200 may further include threading 206 theforend 116 with theintegrated barrel nut 118 over theouter surface 124 of theupper receiver 112 to a predetermined torque value. Themethod 200 may further include checking 208 an alignment of theupper receiver 112 with theforend 116 at the predetermined torque value. Themethod 200 may further include replacing 210 thefirst shim 120 with a second shim having a second width different than the first width, if theupper receiver 112 and theforend 116 are not aligned at the predetermined torque value, before ending at 211. AlthoughFIG. 8 appears to illustrate a particular sequence of steps in themethod 200, these steps may be performed in alternate orders. - This written description uses examples to disclose embodiments, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments. The patentable scope of the embodiments is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the subject matter provided herein should not be limited by any of the above explicitly described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the embodiments should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
- Numerous changes to the subject matter disclosed herein can be made in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the embodiments. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
- The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and/or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Moreover, unless specifically stated, any use of the terms first, second, etc., does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc., are used to distinguish one element from another.
- Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
- Thus, while embodiments have been described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and/or additions may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the embodiments without departing from the scope thereof Therefore, it is intended that the embodiments not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated, but that all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims are considered.
Claims (17)
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US13/901,852 US9279638B2 (en) | 2013-05-24 | 2013-05-24 | Rifle forend with integrated barrel nut |
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US13/901,852 US9279638B2 (en) | 2013-05-24 | 2013-05-24 | Rifle forend with integrated barrel nut |
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US20140345179A1 true US20140345179A1 (en) | 2014-11-27 |
US9279638B2 US9279638B2 (en) | 2016-03-08 |
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US13/901,852 Expired - Fee Related US9279638B2 (en) | 2013-05-24 | 2013-05-24 | Rifle forend with integrated barrel nut |
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US20160151892A1 (en) * | 2014-01-10 | 2016-06-02 | WHG Properties, LLC | Barrel installation tool |
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US11143478B2 (en) * | 2019-04-05 | 2021-10-12 | Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc | Free-floating barrel mounting system for firearm |
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